International superstar Idris Elba will some of Africa and the diaspora’s top creative personalities, experts, brands, and thought leaders at the Creative Africa Nexus Weekend (CANEX WKND 2022 holding between November 25 and November 27 2022 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
Organised by the African Export Import Bank (Afreximbank) in partnership with the Government of Côte d’Ivoire, CANEX WKND is a major milestone in the Bank’s implementation of its Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX) programme.
Elba is an award-winning actor, musician and filmmaker famous for roles such as Nelson Mandela in the biographical film Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, Stringer Bell in the HBO series The Wire, and DCI John Luther in the BBC One series Luther, for which he won a Screen Actors Guild award for Best Actor.
Elba will bring his wealth of experience and insights into the global film industry as part of the CANEX WKND programme, which includes panel discussions, Fireside Chats, Masterclasses and Live performances. With roots in Sierra Leone and Ghana, Elba represents the astounding success of people of African descent within the global entertainment industry. He joins a list of over 100 top speakers from Africa and the diaspora, representing a range of creative sectors.
CANEX is a multi-faceted intervention aimed at supporting and developing Africa’s rapidly growing creative and cultural industries. Afreximbank has identified the African diaspora as an essential component of the CANEX programme.
Other experts expected at the event include:
Didier Drogba, Retired Professional Footballer (Côte d’Ivoire)
Elvis Adidiema, Director, Sony Music for French-speaking Africa (Congo)
Abdul-Karim Abdullah, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Culture Management Group (CMG) and Afrochella Festival (Ghana)
Prof. Bruce Onobrakpeya (Nigeria)
Alex Okosi, Managing Director of EMEA Emerging Markets at YouTube (Nigeria)
Magali Ohouens, Modern Art Specialist & Exhibition Coordinator at Cécile Fakhoury Gallery (Côte d’Ivoire)
Armando Cabral, Founder and Creative Director, Armando Cabral (Portugal) and
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Author (Nigeria), amongst others.